My faith, or as I always say ‘Jesus in me’, was tested on another level the last few weeks. When you have prayed, praised and persevered, but the results are not coming in, it is difficult to maintain your faith. You feel at a loss for words – stunned to the point of being speechless. Please take note of the following: I am out of words, therefor today, I am going to use God’s words to describe this part of the story of my life.
It gets difficult to walk by faith and not by sight. It becomes a battle in your mind – a busy battle where you are busy losing faith. But what if this battle is not yours to fight? What if this is not a good fight to fight? Yes… there are good and bad fights.
In 1 Tim 6:12, we read the following: “Fight the good fight of the faith; lay hold of the eternal life to which you were summoned and [for which] you confessed the good confession [of faith] before many witnesses.”
The fastest way to exhaustion is fighting a battle that is not yours to fight, when the battle is theirs, or it is God’s. To be sure that you are fighting the good fight, you have to know what things are worth fighting for – faith, godliness, love, patience, peace. These are the things that truly matter, but it takes practice and effort.
Reading this same verse, it is of utmost importance to know the following:
- Eternal life is static - you either have it or you don’t (the house is bought)
- The fight for faith is dynamic - you fight to maintain it (the house needs maintenance)
I had a conversation about prayer with my niece recently. When I don’t have any words left, and I know not how to pray, I use the Word of God and my heavenly language, through the Spirit. Why? Because the Word of God is the most powerful weapon to fight the enemy. And the devil does not understand the Holy Spirit’s language. He knows something is coming, but he does not have a clue what it is and what he can do about it.
Romans 8:26, 27: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
Then, after praying, this war is not mine, and I walk out of my room a conqueror, knowing the devil has been fooled. There are 2 battles: spiritual and earthly:
1. Spiritual battles started in the Garden of Eden – kingdom against kingdom (God vs Satan)
2. The first earthly battle we read about is Cain making war against his brother, Abel.
We can’t act on the visible – on what we see. ‘Seeing is believing’ should change to ‘believe and you will see’, because there is always much more going on in the heavenly realms. Even earthly battles can serve a purpose. Sometimes, God uses earthly battles to achieve His goals – the Egyptians were swallowed by the earth when the Red Sea opened and closed.
God intervened. Humanly, the situation was hopeless, but God delivered His people. God’s character showed and I quote: “For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods” (Psalm 135:5) and that is why I will proclaim His Name to my sons when they ask about His faithfulness. “When your son asks you in time to come, “What is the meaning of the testimonies and statutes and precepts which the Lord our God has commanded you?” Then I shall quote to them: The Israelites “were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt, and the Lord brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and evil, against Egypt, against Pharaoh, and all his household, before their eyes; and He brought them out from there, that He might bring them in to give them the land which He swore to give to our fathers.” (Deuteronomy 6:20-23)
The giants you are facing may seem impressive, but when you fight in the Name of the Lord, you become invincible. We are called to fight, not each other, but against sin. We will be tempted though, but as we are called to fight, so we are called to be peacemakers.
Matthew 5:9: “Blessed (enjoying enviable happiness, spiritually prosperous – with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the makers and maintainers of peace for they shall be called the sons of God!”
Always keep in mind that every deed will be judged (Ecclesiastes 12:14) and that vengeance is not yours, but the Lord’s (Romans 12: 17-19)
We don’t have to fight the battles unprotected. We have the full armor of God (Ephesians 6: 10-18). We have weapons of destruction - 2 Corinthians 10:3 ,4: “For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds”
The heavenly realm is real. God can intervene in a situation without us noticing it. God can use any schemes and any authority for His plans. Accept the challenge from your giants, because your battle does not belong to you.
1 Samuel 17:47: “And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
Take heart. Be fearless. The Strongest Party will always win.
In the end, may we say: “I have fought the good (worthy, honorable and noble) fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)
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